HELSINKI — President Donald Trump said the Russia investigation has been a “disaster” for the United States and has kept America and Russia “separated.”

Speaking during a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, he reiterated that there was “no collusion” between his campaign and the Russian government.

Trump said he ran a “clean campaign” and he beat his Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton “easily.” The president added that it’s a “shame” there is a cloud over his administration. He says he ran a “brilliant campaign and that’s why I’m president.”

Putin pushed back against claims that his government interfered in the U.S. election. He says there’s “no evidence when it comes to the actual facts.”

“I had to repeat that the Russian state never interfered, and does not plan to interfere in internal American electoral process,” Putin proclaimed.

Trump added that relations between the U.S. and Russia have never been worse. He adds that he thinks that “changed as of about four hours ago.”

He says he’s sure that he and Putin will meet again often in the future.

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President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin opened their long-awaited summit Monday with a wink and slouch, respectively, then talked one on one behind closed doors for two-plus hours before the American leader declared their meeting was off to a “very, very good start for everybody.”

Neither leader revealed what was discussed. But in advance of the talks, Trump listed a series of topics that did not include Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

“We have not been getting along well for the last number of years,” Trump said after arriving at the Presidential Palace in Finland’s capital, where the leaders are meeting. “But I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship. … I really think the world wants to see us get along.”

Putin, for his part, said he and Trump have maintained regular contact through phone calls and meetings at international events but “the time has come to have a thorough discussion on various international problems and sensitive issues.” He added: “There are quite a few of them for us to pay attention to.”

Their opening one-on-one session had been scheduled to run 90 minutes. The Russians said it lasted two hours and 10 minutes. The White House wouldn’t immediately confirm the timing.

The summit, which is being closely watched around the world, was not the first time Trump and Putin have held talks. They met on the sidelines of world leader meetings in Germany and Vietnam last year. But Monday’s session was condemned in advance by members of Congress from both parties after the U.S. indictment last week of 12 Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking Democrats in the 2016 election to help Trump’s presidential campaign.

Trump said last week that he would raise the meddling issue again with Putin, but questions have been swirling about whether Trump will sharply and publicly rebuke his Russian counterpart for the interference that prompted a special investigation probe that Trump has repeatedly labeled a “witch hunt.”

Addressing reporters before the one-on-one meeting, Putin struck a casual pose during Trump’s remarks, slouching in his chair with his legs wide and eyes low. He nodded along to some of Trump’s remarks before they were translated, showcasing his fluency in English. Trump leaned forward in his chair, his hands tented in front of him and frequently glanced over at the Russian president. At one point, he shot Putin a wink. After Trump concluded his remarks, American reporters shouted several questions about whether he would bring up election meddling during his discussions with Putin.

Trump did not respond; Putin appeared to smirk.

With that, the leaders gave a quick handshake and their private meeting in the opulent Gothic Hall was under way. Just the two of them, each with a translator.

They continued the discussion with an expanded group of aides and over lunch in the Hall of Mirrors, once the emperor’s throne room. They’ll conclude the summit by taking questions at a joint news conference.

Out on the streets, the summit attracted a grab-bag of protesters, with abortion-rights activists wearing artificially bulging bellies and Trump masks, anti-fascist protesters bearing signs with expletive-laden insults, and free traders, anti-war Ukrainians and gay rights supporters making their voices heard.

The summit began just hours after Trump blamed the United States — and not Russian election meddling or its annexation of Crimea — for a low-point in U.S.-Russia relations. The drama was playing out against a backdrop of fraying Western alliances, a new peak in the Russia investigation and fears that Moscow’s aggression may go unchallenged.

“Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse,” Trump tweeted Monday morning, blaming “many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”

The Russian foreign ministry responded by liking Trump’s tweet and then replying: “We agree.”

The summit started late because Putin arrived in Helsinki about a half hour behind schedule in another display of the Russian’s leader famous lack of punctuality. Trump seemed to return the favor by waiting until Putin had arrived at the palace before leaving his hotel. Putin has been late for past meetings with the pope and British queen, among many others.

Several dozen Trump supporters, many waving American flags and sporting “Make America Great Again” caps, cheered Trump near his waterfront hotel in Helsinki. Two held up a handwritten banner that read “God Bless D & M Trump.”

Trump and his aides have repeatedly tried to lower expectations about what the summit will achieve. He told CBS News that he didn’t “expect anything” from Putin, while his national security adviser said the U.S. wasn’t looking for any “concrete deliverables.” Trump told reporters during a breakfast Monday with Finland’s president that he thought the summit would go “fine.”

Observers have raised concerns about the fact that the leaders met alone during their first meeting, but for a pair of interpreters, meaning there will be no corroborating witnesses to accurately represent what was said during the conversation.

Trump said he and Putin would discuss a range of issues, from trade to the military, along with missiles and China. Not mentioned: Election meddling or Syria.

The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected last week’s indictment as part of a “shameful comedy” they claim has been staged to prevent the normalization of Russia-U.S. ties.

In tweets Monday, Trump continued to undermine the investigation and blamed his predecessor, Barack Obama, for failing to stop Russia’s efforts to sway the 2016 election in Trump’s favor. He claimed Obama “was informed by the FBI about Russian Meddling, he said it couldn’t happen, was no big deal, & did NOTHING about it.”

The Obama administration did, in fact, take action, including confronting Putin in person as well as expelling nearly three dozen Russian diplomats the U.S. said were actually intelligence operatives and imposing new sanctions.

While Trump was eager for a made-for-TV moment that will dominate headlines like his sit-down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month, Putin hopes the meeting, mere hours after he presided over the World Cup finals, will help him forge good personal ties with Trump and focus on areas where Moscow and Washington may be able to find common ground, such as Syria.

Putin will likely not be shooting for official recognition of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea or the easing of crippling U.S. sanctions, aware that the U.S. Congress would never allow such action. But he would welcome a symbolic end to Western protests over Crimea and Moscow’s attempts to destabilize elections and traditional Western alliances and norms.

On Syria, a possible deal could see Moscow helping mediate the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their Hezbollah proxies from the areas alongside Syria’s border with Israel — a diplomatic coup that would reflect Russia’s carefully cultivated ties with both Israel and Iran.

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Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Ken Thomas and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.fox15abilene.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-condemns-russia-probe-after-putin-talks/507-574162339

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he spoke with President Donald Trump over the weekend about “security and diplomatic issues” pertaining chiefly to Syria and Iran, ahead of a hotly anticipated meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin where those issues are expected to feature prominently in talks.

Revealing a Saturday evening telephone conversation with Trump, Netanyahu said the two “discussed security and diplomatic issues in light of developments in the region, with Syria and Iran first and foremost, of course.”

“As you know, these issues will also come up at the presidents’ summit in Helsinki. Of course I discussed them with President Putin last Wednesday,” Netanyahu added.

Netanyahu said that during the conversation he thanked Trump for his “strong policy against Iran” and said that Trump in turn “clearly reiterated his commitment to the security of Israel and his willingness to help the State of Israel in various fields.”

The phone call between the leaders comes amid a flurry of reports suggesting that Israel and the US are coordinating a strategy that would see the total removal of Iranian forces from Syria in exchange for Israel’s nonintervention in the stabilization of President Bashar Al-Assad’s rule and, even more significantly, a potential offer from Trump to drop sanctions and recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 11 2018.  Kobi Gideon/GPO

The post Netanyahu talks Syria, Iran with Trump ahead of Putin summit first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Despite Trump’s push, the heads-of-state confab risks being overshadowed by growing tensions between the U.S. president and European allies, Trump’s policies outside of NATO and his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is scheduled to take place days later.

U.S. ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison told reporters last week that the theme of this year’s summit will be “strength and unity.” And while NATO’s secretary-general noted that the alliance has survived past disputes, he has acknowledged growing divisions among allies.

On the heels of a tense summit for the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized nations last month, NATO watchers are hoping leaders put on a happy face in Brussels and get through the meeting without any major incidents.

Here are five things to watch at this week’s summit:

Do Trump and other leaders get along?

Allies largely played nice with Trump in the early days of his presidency, hoping to charm him into changing his position on issues such as the Paris climate agreement, tariffs and the Iran nuclear deal.

But Trump defied those efforts and has openly criticized other world leaders, leading to various disputes with the heads of global powers that have long relied on the U.S.

The G-7 appeared to mark a turning point, with Angela Merkel’s office releasing a photo of the German chancellor staring down a cross-armed Trump. And for days after the summit, as Trump prepared for his historic meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, the president feuded with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

After Trudeau said Canada would retaliate against Trump’s “kind of insulting” tariffs, Trump called Trudeau “very dishonest and weak” in a tweet and said that the United States would not be signing the G-7’s joint communiqué because of “Justin’s false statements.”

Shortly after his initial volley against Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron on Twitter amid the rolling trade disputes, Trump insisted during a news conference that relations between the U.S. and allied nations was never better, stating, “The level of relationship is a 10. Angela [Merkel], Emmanuel [Macron], Justin [Trudeau]. I would say the relationship is a 10.”

Merkel has drawn particular rancor from Trump, with him tweeting last month that “the people of Germany are turning against their leadership.” And at a campaign rally in Montana last week, Trump also hinted he has told Merkel the U.S. might change its military posture if Germany doesn’t spend more on defense.

“I said, you know, Angela, I can’t guarantee it, but we’re protecting you, and it means a lot more to you than protecting us because I don’t know how much protection we get by protecting you,” Trump said.

What happens on defense spending?

During Trump’s riff at the rally in Montana on Thursday night where he called out Merkel, Trump also labeled the United States “schmucks” for how much it spends compared to allies.

“I’m going to tell NATO, you got to start paying your bills. The United States is not going to take care of everything,” Trump said.

“We are the schmucks that are paying for the whole thing,” he added later.

Greater burden sharing is a refrain that Trump has sounded since his 2016 campaign. But he’s upped the pressure recently, sending letters to Merkel, Trudeau and other NATO leaders suggesting the possibility of a change in U.S. military posture if they don’t increase their defense spending.

Just eight of NATO’s 29 members meet or are expected to meet this year the alliance’s goal of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense: the United States, United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Lithuania. The goal was set at the 2014 Wales summit, where allies agreed to meet the target by 2024.

Despite growing animosity between Trump and other NATO leaders, experts are expecting allies to continue a four-year trend of upward spending because allies have realized they need to spend more independently of the U.S.

“The Europeans are starting to recognize that they may have to think about what it may look like without the United States there for them,” said James Goldgeier, a professor of international relations at American University.

Will counterterrorism be a focus?

During the presidential campaign, Trump railed against NATO as “obsolete” for what he saw as a lack of focus on counterterrorism.

NATO supporters pushed back on that, highlighting that the only time allies have invoked the mutual defense pact known as Article 5 was after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

Last year’s NATO heads-of-state meeting took place days after a terrorist attack in Manchester, England, putting a spotlight on the counterterrorism part of the agenda. At the meeting, NATO officially joined the coalition battling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a largely symbolic move that had been in the works for years but took on added importance amid Trump’s criticisms.

This year, Hutchison told reporters that counterterrorism will again be a priority for Trump at the summit.

In line with that, allies are expected to officially launch NATO’s bigger training mission in Iraq to help stabilize the country post-ISIS.

Hutchinson also said Trump will continue to make the case for allies to extend their commitment to Afghanistan, following his announcement of a new strategy last summer that is based on conditions on the ground instead of timelines.

Is Putin the elephant in the room?

Last month’s G-7 in Canada was marred by Trump’s statement on the way there that Russia should be readmitted to the group. Russia was kicked out in 2014 because of its annexation of Crimea, a move Western nations maintain was illegal.

Now, days after Trump meets with NATO leaders, he will head to Helsinki, Finland, for a summit with Putin. That summit is expected to kick off with a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin.

NATO was founded as a buttress against the Soviet Union and has shifted its focus back to Russia after its incursion in Ukraine. In the call with reporters, Hutchison said that NATO’s “strengthened deterrence and defense” is needed in light of the “the malign activities of Russia.”

But allies are nervous about Trump being in a room alone with Putin and what concessions he might make in an effort to forge a deal, such as whether he will recognize Russia’s claim over Crimea. Trump has left the door open to doing so, saying “we’re going to have to see.”

Allies are also worried about Trump unilaterally scuttling military exercises in Europe. Trump decided to cancel joint military exercises with South Korea during his summit with Kim last month. In doing so, Trump labeled the exercises “provocative,” an argument Putin has made against NATO exercises in Eastern Europe.

Do non-NATO issues spoil the mood?

While allies are rankled about Trump’s comments on spending and military posture, much of the strain in U.S. relations with allies has come from issues technically outside the scope of NATO.

That includes Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent tariffs on imported aluminum from the European Union and Canada, as well as Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement and Paris climate accord against allies’ wishes.

Ahead of the NATO defense minister’s meeting last month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said those represent “serious disagreements” among allies. He also warned in a Guardian op-ed weeks later that “nowhere is it written in stone that the transatlantic bond will always thrive.”

But he’s also said NATO can continue with its “core tasks” in spite of the divisions.

“We have to remember that we have seen differences before, all the way back to the 1950s where NATO allies disagreed on the Suez crisis or when France decided to leave the command structure in the 1960s or the Iraq War in 2003,” Stoltenberg said.

“So it’s nothing new that there are difference between NATO allies, and what we have seen again and again is that we have been able to unite around NATO’s core task to protect and defend each other despite those difference.”

Source: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/395882-5-things-to-watch-as-trump-heads-to-nato-summit

The post 5 things to watch as Trump heads to NATO summit first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.